Horses have relatively thin legs, with tendons close to the surface. An injury to the tendons is therefore always looming. Tendon injuries come in many different forms. Sometimes a horse is very lame, sometimes not at all. Sometimes it is a very serious problem, in other cases, the horse only needs to train a little less intensively.

How does a tendon injury occur?

There can be several causes for tendon injuries:

• Too intense training
• Too much of the same / repetitive training
• Training on poor surfaces
• Sudden impact or force such as a hard landing after a jump
• Horse consistently bears too much weight on the forehand
• Horse has irregularities in feet or build that he compensates for
• Horse has another injury / inflammation that he compensates for
• External damage
• Overheating of the tendons

How do you recognize a tendon injury?

A tendon injury is sometimes difficult to recognize because a horse does not always walk very lame. But in principle, the tendon is warm and sometimes swollen with a tendon injury. To be able to detect this on time, it is wise to feel your horse's legs every day (before and after riding). This way you will know what is normal for your horse. Some horses, for example, have a bit of filled legs, then the (hind) legs are a bit swollen after a few hours standing in the stable. This usually disappears with movement.

Also, you should not confuse a tendon injury with ‘einschuss’. With einschuss, there is usually a wound or skin problems such as scratches. Einschuss is also often higher on the leg.

Accurate diagnosis of tendon injuries

What we all call a tendon injury is not always actually damage to the tendon. A tendon runs from bone to muscle. But ligaments (bone to bone) and the tendon sheath can also be warm and swollen. For example, a thickening in the check ligament, just below the front knee on the back of the cannon bone. This sometimes occurs in horses that have made an incorrect movement. Usually, we call all swellings and warm spots on tendons, ligaments, and the tendon sheath 'a tendon injury' in layman's terms. To find out exactly what the problem is, your vet needs to examine the leg with an ultrasound. This can only be done after the swelling has subsided. Therefore, your vet will usually recommend starting with cooling and rest for a thickened tendon. Cooling can be done by rinsing with cold water for twenty minutes. There are also special cool packs for horses that can be applied like a bandage. The advice is often to step on a hard surface for fifteen minutes after cooling. Do this twice a day. When the swelling has subsided, have the vet come to examine the area where the swelling was. For this, it is usually necessary to shave the lower leg.

Should my horse be on box rest?

In the past, horses were immediately put on box rest at the slightest suspicion of a tendon injury. This is not always the case nowadays. It is often wise, for example, to use a small paddock and not train the horse. To keep your horse calm, it can be a good idea to no longer give concentrated feed, but only a vitamin pellet (balancer). A supplement against stress, for example, with herbs such as chamomile, helps to keep your horse relaxed when he is not moving much.

Box rest is still often prescribed by a vet, but also look closely at your horse. If your horse experiences a lot of stress from standing indoors all day, it may sometimes be wiser to put your horse outside in a controlled environment. Always consult with the vet, sometimes box rest is really necessary for severe tendon injuries.

Support during recovery

Time is the best healer for a tendon injury. This is because tendon tissue has few blood vessels, which means it takes longer for waste products to be removed and for recovery to take place. Expect between ten days and three weeks for the active inflammation to disappear. During this time, you can fight the inflammation with, for example, black cumin and/or cannabinoids. Your vet may prescribe an anti-inflammatory. Therapies using PRP, shockwave, stem cells, or the use of a vibration plate can help in the next phase. Tissue is rebuilt after the inflammation, but this is not yet good and strong tendon tissue. The horse must start moving carefully to support the rebuilding, but the tendon is still vulnerable in this phase. After about three months, the structure of the new tendon fibers is 'straightened out', and the tendon tissue becomes stronger and more elastic. A tendon that has been injured will never be as strong as it was before. But the tendon can often become functional again, allowing your horse to return to its previous level.

Preventing tendon injuries

Recognizing tendon injuries at an early stage is very important. But it is even better to prevent tendon injuries. This can be done through a combination of the following:

• Ensure a good warm-up and cool-down
• Walk your horse out properly after training, preferably on a hard, flat surface
• Build up the horse properly and initially do not train too heavily or too long
• Do not train in the same way every day or with the same exercises
• Do not practice the same exercises or jumps for a long time in a row
• Teach your horse to distribute its weight evenly over four legs and walk in balance
• Strengthen tendons with varied training on varied surfaces
• Support the development of bones, tendons, collagen, and cartilage with liquid silicon
• Have your horse regularly trimmed to prevent uneven loading and (over)compensation
• Do not use bandages and remove tendon boots immediately after training
• Intervene in time if your horse does not walk comfortably

Often, 'not walking comfortably' is thought to be related to the back and spine, but the suspicion among vets is that it often stems from mild pain from an early tendon injury or inflammation somewhere in the legs or hooves. It is therefore important to be alert to this. A horse will not go lame quickly, but will rather try to avoid pain or compensate by adjusting its way of moving. It may then appear that there are problems in the back or shoulders.

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